This guide will walk you through the initial setup of the Alius DCU Controller, including hardware connection, system image flashing, and first boot verification. After completing this guide, you will have a fully functional DCU development environment.

Preparation

Before starting, please ensure you have prepared the following items:

  • Alius DCU Controller main unit
  • 12V or 24V DC power supply (any voltage within 9-36V is acceptable)
  • Power connector (provided with the product)
  • Micro USB cable (for serial debugging)
  • Ethernet cable (for network connection)
  • Micro SD card (8GB or above, for system flashing)
  • Card reader (for writing the image to the SD card)

Hardware Connection

Step 1: Connect the Power Supply

The DCU Controller’s power input interface is a 2-pin terminal block. Please follow these steps to connect the power:

  1. Confirm that the power supply voltage is within the 9-36 VDC range. A 12V 5A or 24V 3A power adapter is recommended.
  2. Connect the positive power wire (red) to the VIN terminal and the negative wire (black) to the GND terminal.
  3. Use a screwdriver to tighten the terminal block screws to ensure a reliable connection.
  4. Do not turn on the power at this time.

Step 2: Connect the Debug Serial Port

The DCU has an onboard Micro USB debug serial port that can be used for system debugging and log viewing:

  1. Connect the DCU’s debug port to your computer using a Micro USB data cable.
  2. Open a serial tool on your computer (such as PuTTY, minicom, or screen).
  3. Serial configuration: Baud rate 1500000, data bits 8, stop bits 1, no parity, no flow control.

Step 3: Connect the Network

Connect one end of the Ethernet cable to the DCU’s GbE interface and the other end to your local network or directly to your computer.

System Image Flashing

The DCU Controller supports booting from a Micro SD card and also supports flashing the system to the onboard eMMC storage. The SD card boot method is introduced below, which is the most convenient method for development and testing.

Download System Image

Alius provides several pre-built system images for the DCU Controller:

  • Debian 11 (Recommended): Complete desktop environment, suitable for development and debugging.
  • Ubuntu 22.04: Server version, suitable for production deployment.
  • Buildroot (Minimal System): Minimal system with fast boot, suitable for embedded applications.

Please download the latest system image file (.img.xz format) from the official Alius website.

Flash Image to SD Card

Linux / macOS Users

# Decompress the image file
xz -d aliu-dcu-debian11-2024xxxx.img.xz

# View SD card device name
lsblk

# Write the image to the SD card (replace /dev/sdX with the actual device name)
sudo dd if=aliu-dcu-debian11-2024xxxx.img of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress
sync

Windows Users

  1. Download and install Balena Etcher.
  2. Open Etcher, select the downloaded image file and the SD card.
  3. Click “Flash” to start flashing.

First Boot

  1. Insert the flashed SD card into the DCU’s Micro SD card slot.
  2. Turn on the power and observe the onboard LED indicators.
  3. After the system boots, the debug serial port will output boot logs.
  4. The first boot may take 30-60 seconds, please be patient.
  5. After the boot is complete, the serial terminal will display a login prompt.

Default login information:

  • Username: aliu
  • Password: aliu2024

Network Connection Verification

Configure Network via Serial Port

After the first boot, it is recommended to log in via the serial port and configure the network:

# Log in to the system
aliu login: aliu
Password: aliu2024

# View network interfaces
ip addr

# Configure dynamic IP (DHCP)
sudo dhclient eth0

# Verify network connection
ping -c 4 8.8.8.8

SSH Remote Login

After the network is configured, you can remotely log in to the DCU via SSH for a more convenient development experience:

# Execute on the development host, replace <ip_address> with the actual IP of the DCU
ssh aliu@<ip_address>

Running Example Programs

The DCU Controller comes with several pre-installed example programs to help you quickly understand the system’s capabilities.

Example 1: LED Control

# Blink the onboard LED
cd /opt/aliu/examples
sudo ./led_blink.py

Example 2: CAN-FD Communication Test

# Configure CAN interface
sudo ip link set can0 type can bitrate 1000000
sudo ip link set can0 up

# Send CAN frame
cansend can0 123#1122334455667788

# Receive CAN frame
candump can0

Example 3: NPU Inference Test

# Run the pre-installed NPU example
cd /opt/aliu/npu-samples
python3 classify.py --model mobilenet_v2.rknn --image cat.jpg

Next Steps

After completing the getting started guide, you can:

  • Read the Specifications document to gain a deeper understanding of the DCU’s hardware parameters.
  • Refer to the Interfaces & I/O document to learn how to use each interface.
  • Follow the Deployment Guide to integrate the DCU into your robotic system.